Shaykh Mustafa Ismael is one of the most well known Qaris (Quran reciter).[citation needed] He was born in a village called Mit Gazal, a village near Tanta in Egypt on 17 June 1905 and his parents named him Mustafa Muhammad Nursi Ismael, he was raised by his grandfather.

Shaykh Mustafa Ismael focused on the Quran from an early age, when he reached the age of 10 he completed his hifdh Hafiz (memorized the Quran). He went to the Ahmadi Institution, Tanta and was instructed in the science of Tafsir (exegesis), Qiraa’at (art of recitation) and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). After completing his formal studies, Sheikh Mustafa Ismail devoted his life to the service of the Quran.